Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting Cardamom Tented Camp
Situated deep in a protected area of Botum Sakor National Park on the Preak Tachan River, Cardamom Tented Camp is ideally suited for outdoor adventurers and nature lovers alike. In fact, everything about your stay here is geared towards the appreciation of nature – from our safari-style tented accommodation to patrols with forest rangers, treks into the jungle, bird watching, and kayaking forays down the Preak Tachan River into the unknown.
Making your stay a fantastic experience is important to us, and our local staff, guides and naturalist experts are always ready to go out of their way to assist you and make your visit a memorable one. Just as essential is making sure that our operations don’t encroach on the pristine biodiversity of Botum Sakor National Park.
As our guests at Cardamom Tented Camp you play a crucial role in this objective, because without your presence, we are unable to support our forest rangers, buy important equipment such as camera traps, help local communities and promote sustainable initiatives. Your stay literally helps us to keep the forest standing and protect it from loggers, poachers and the nefarious enterprises of some commercial industries.
One of the ways you can also help is by being prepared for your stay with us. First of all, when camping in remote wilderness you should consider carefully what to take with you, especially in terms of clothing and equipment. Check out our essential packing list for trekking in Cambodia, for more tips on what to bring.
What not to bring is also important too! We are not a typical hotel and because getting to Cardamom Tented Camp involves a boat journey, albeit a stunning one, we have limited luggage capacity on our boat and in our tents. At the boat jetty in Trapeang Rung village, we have facilities where you can safely leave larger items of luggage, but where possible, we advise guesst to put hefty suitcases into storage for a few days and bring a small backpack or carry-on-sized bag instead.
Like most regular hotels, we also do not allow pets at Cardamom Tented Camp. This is to ensure, not just the safety of your pet, but also the park’s wildlife. The delicate ecosystem of Botum Sakor is home to some of the world’s rarest species and therefore we cannot risk the possibility of disease being transmitted to the local wildlife in this pristine biodiversity.
Sadly, we must also insist on no children below the age of 7 years old, as the jungle can be a dangerous place for curious and inquisitive youngsters. Families visiting us with children between the ages of 8 and 14 must also ensure that their children are accompanied by an adult at all times, and that any instructions for children on treks and patrols into the jungle are carefully followed.
Unlike some remote parts of Southeast Asia, Cardamom Tented Camp is fortunate in that it does not have any particular health risks. Malaria, for example, which is still a problem in some parts of Cambodia, has not been documented in this area of the park for many years, and none of the local communities have any recurring health problems. However, please remember to bring any special medicine or prescription medication you need with you
Being situated in a remote locale, we also have detailed plans in place for almost every scenario, from medical emergency evacuations to forest fires and flooding! In addition, our staff receive annual First Aid training, including how to deal with snake bites. We also conduct regular fire drills to ensure our readiness, and all our tented accommodations are fitted with smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
There’s nothing like being properly prepared for your trip to Cardamom Tented Camp to ensure that you get the most out of your adventure with us in one of Southeast Asia’s last remaining tropical wildernesses.
